A Conscious Decision
by Ruby Moon-Snape
Summary: What if Operation: Rebirth had an unforseen side effect for mutants?


Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men Evolution.

'blah' means thoughts

"A Conscious Decision"

It was a quiet morning in Bayville...until you went by The Brotherhood Boarding House. There was a small earthquake, but it originated from inside the house. Fred Dukes had fallen down the stairs, almost landing on Wanda Maximoff. She was saved by her twin brother, Pietro. Unfortunately, these two actions caused her to hex bolt both boys. Wanda walked away from the entryway and into the living room, where she saw Lance Alvers strumming his guitar. Not wanting to be near his loud music, she went into the kitchen. To her disgust, Todd Tolensky was crouched on the counter and was in the process of retracting his tongue, attached to which was a fly, After swallowing the fly, Todd said, "Hey, Wanda-sweetums-"

He was cut off when she hex bolted him. Suddenly, another small earthquake shook the Brotherhood house, almost making Wanda lose her footing. She stormed into the living room, where Lance was playing a rock song on the guitar, inadvertently making the house shake with his powers. She hex bolted him and stalked out of the living room, through the entryway, and up the stairs, determined to find a place to be alone.

From the living room, Lance said, "It was easier training to be an X-Man."

From the entryway, Pietro waited until he heard Wanda's door slam before commenting, "I'd prefer to have Boom Boom back."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Pietro got up and answered it, using his powers. He saw a boy around his age with brown hair and blue eyes. "Who are you?"

"Erik Lensherr."

'What? That's my father's real name, but this can't be him, but there's no reason this guy would use my father's name, knowing Wanda's here.' Pietro heard footsteps. "I hope that's Lance.'

Unfortunately, it was Wanda, coming down the stairs, curious as to who was at the door. She spotted her brother and narrowed her eyes. "Pietro!"

She fired a hex bolt in his direction; however, he saw it and moved out of the way. Unfortunately, it hit Erik, who was knocked unconscious from the force of the bolt. She scowled and successfully hexed her brother. She knelt down next to him and hissed, "Next time, don't move!"

Without so much as a glance at Erik, she swept into the living room, which Lance was exiting.

"What's going on, Pietro?"

"That is Erik Lensherr, my father."

"Magneto?"

Pietro nodded. "I don't know how this could've happened."

"Are you sure he's Magneto?"

"Pretty sure."

"Well, I'll take him to the Xavier Institute to make sure."

"He'll kill you if he regains his memories. You know that!"

"How else are we supposed to find out if he is who he says he is?"

"Fine. Besides, you probably just want to see your Pretty Kitty."

"Don't push me." The house shook, which roused Erik. Lance extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Lance. I'll take you to see some friends."

Erik grabbed his hand and was hauled to his feet. It was a quiet walk to the Xavier Institute. Lance used his powers to open the gate and damage the weapon systems, which caused the alarms to go off. The X-Men quickly gathered outside. Seeing Lance, Wolverine unsheathed his claws. Something we can do for ya, bub?"

"I was hoping Xavier would like to meet Erik Lensherr." Lance paused, Seeing their confused expressions, he added, "You know, Magneto."

"No way! You're kidding! He's like a kid!" Shadowcat exclaimed. Spyke had one of his spikes poked out of his right sleeve.

"Well, he said his name is Erik Lensherr, and Pietro said that is Magneto's real name," Lance replied.

"This could be a trick." Cyclops fingered his visor.

Jean probed Lance's mind and placed a hand on Cyclops's arm. "It's not a trick. He believes it to be true."

"Besides, why would Magneto go this far?" Storm questioned.

"If you're really Erik, prove it," Cyclops said.

Erik looked around and spied one of the damaged weapon systems. He used his powers of magnetism to move it, which caused Cyclops's jaw to drop..

"Operation: Rebirth," Wolverine growled. Rogue and Nightcrawler exchanged concerned looks.

Just then, everyone heard in their minds Professor Xavier say, "Bring Erik inside."

"Or I could do a background check right now," Rogue mentioned, pulling off one of her gloves.

"That won't be necessary. We'll have the professor look in on the matter," Beast put in.

Lance and Erik followed the X-Men to Xavier's study. Xavier was seated behind his desk, fingers steepled and one eyebrow raised. He was studying Erik, who was seated on the other side of the desk. The professor then turned to Wolverine and asked, "So, Erik went through Operation: Rebirth?"

"Yeah," Wolverine said gruffly.

"But why?" Xavier questioned.

"He said Operation: Rebirth gives mutants long life," Nightcrawler supplied.

"Fascinating." Beast was circling Eric, studying him. "The rejuvenating effects of Operation: Rebirth appear to have an unforeseen side effect on mutants."

Xavier wheeled himself around the desk and over to Erik. "Erik, do you understand that you are supposed to be an adult?"

"That is what I gathered from the conversation," Erik answered.

"You obviously don't remember a lot of people. I would like to enter your mind and see if the memories are suppressed or are gone completely," Xavier told him.

"Professor!" Cyclops exclaimed.

Xavier held up his hand, ignoring Cyclops's outburst. "However, you don't have to decide now. Lance, Kitty, if you two would escort Erik to one of the guest rooms."

Lance opened the door, allowing Kitty to lead the way. Once the door closed behind them, Cyclops turned to Xavier and asked, "How could you want to help Magneto? He's our enemy!"

"He is also my friend and a victim of circumstances. However, if anyone can come up with an acceptable alternative, I'll consider it."

"We could leave him as he is," Spyke put in.

"We could try to reverse his condition," Storm suggested.

"To reverse his condition, we would need to examine Operation: Rebirth." Xavier turned to Wolverine. "Logan, is there anything left?"

"No. The Elf put the bomb on the instrument panel."

"Are there any blueprints?"

"Maybe."

"You could contact Nick Fury."

"Any information on Operation: Rebirth would be classified, Chuck. There would be no point."

"In that case, there is no way to reverse his condition. As to leaving him as he is, that is up to Erik. He may decide to deny me access to his mind. In that case, I will honor his decision," Xavier said.

"Professor Xavier's right. We can't force our way in. It may do irreparable damage," Jean agreed.

%%% LATER ON

"Erik, have you come to a decision regarding my offer?"

"Yes. I want you to help me."

"Very well." Xavier wheeled over to the brunette and placed his hands on either side of the teen's face. Erik closed his eyes.

Xavier found himself on a paved road with billboards on both sides of the road. Each billboard depicted a specific event in Erik's life (for example: the concentration camp, the emergence of his powers, the death of his parents). Xavier wheeled himself down the path, giving the billboards the briefest of glances. After a couple of minutes, Xavier came to a fork in the road. The right path was labeled peace and ended shortly after it started. The left path was labeled war and was covered in darkness. Xavier had no doubt that this was what was suppressing his memories. He wheeled as far as he could down the path. He closed his eyes, placed his hands on either side of his head, and concentrated on using his psychic powers to dissipate the darkness. He was immediately rewarded with the dissipation of the darkness. However, before he could check to see if there were any other suppressed memories, Xavier felt himself being forced out of Erik's mind.

Xavier took his hands off the brunette's face. "Magneto?"

"That's enough of the intrusion, Charles."

Xavier gave a small smile. "Welcome back, Magnus. I'm sorry we couldn't reverse your condition."

"Do not concern yourself with it." Magneto stood up. "Thank you for your assistance, Charles. I'll be on my way."

"Where will you go, Magneto?"

"None of your concern."

"You could stay with us at the Brotherhood," Lance offered.

"With Wanda there? No." He started walking to the door. He paused at the doorway. "There is no need for your concern, Avalanche." With that said, Magneto left.

"You did a good job, Professor," Jean said.

"Yes. Considering you were dealing with several unknown variables, you did the best you could," Storm agreed.

Xavier nodded. "Yes. All things considered."

END


End file.
